sports

A great tragedy struck recently. Netflix didn’t get a new contract with Fox entertainment so they are cancelling Fox shows effective April 1st. This includes my favorite television show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No shows has been able to show the angst, pains and loves of growing up quite as well as Buffy. Combining searing drama with humor and a little horror, plus even a musical episode, Buffy has been my favorite since its inception.

And now it’s going away…..

Because of its impending disappearance, I’ve been watching as many of the 7 seasons as I can. One reason why I loved this show so much is that it took time to bring out life’s problems and dealt with them in a very well-written, entertaining way, sometimes with vampires, other times with the Apocalypse or even worse. Yes, worse!

So, there was one episode I watched last night, “Normal Again” in Season 6, that really hit home. It was one where the evil trio of the time, Warren, Andrew and Jonathan created a demon who stung Buffy and made her think that her whole life was just her imagination and that she was really confined in a mental hospital. The demon made her think that everything that was real was false and that she should stay in the created world because the false one (the one with her friends in Sunnydale) was part of her sickness.

It would have been easy for Buffy to stay in the safe place, in her imagination. To stay with her mother and father (who in her imagination had not divorced but were happy together). It would have been simple to live in a comatose state, her brain thinking that the pretend world was real.

But she couldn’t. She had an evil to fight and had to find a way to reality.

We also have to fight our way to reality. It’s very easy to dream of what our lives might be like. I find myself doing this a lot, especially when things aren’t going so well, like now. I think of what my life would be like living in an area where I could hear birds singing from my apartment, or hey, having green grass to walk on, instead of hopping over dog poop. I dream of having enough money to pay my bills rather than choose between paying a bill and buying fresh produce. It is a challenge.

But the more we daydream and pull ourselves away from what we need to do, what we MUST do, the more we pull ourselves away from the Here & Now.

We must focus on what is to be done, today, right now, this very moment. If we can complete today’s tasks, then our tomorrow will be brighter. This is a fact!

So, I’ve had a cold for a few days. I don’t feel too bad any longer. I did make it to work today. It felt great to leave the house and be in contact with other people. I contemplated going for a run tonight, but decided against it, figuring I will go out tomorrow night instead. I’ll rest one more evening and be more than ready for an easy run Thursday night.

During my down time, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking (and eating unfortunately). I thought about starting another website to promote health and fitness for folks 50 and over, but then I reminded myself that even though that sounded like a great idea, one is enough for me and I can combine whatever I want to do within here.

Eventually, I will add more to this site. There will be more in 2017. I will add more recipes, more health info and a lot more content, especially for those of us who are no longer on the shy side of 40. I will be adding interviews with inspirational and professional people I think readers will enjoy. I’m excited about the improvements and additions I’ll be including and I really can’t wait for 2016 to end. I will write more about how the year was for me, but it’s not making an easy ending for me, I’ll say for now.

Until my Holiday post, I hope you don’t drink too much egg nog (there’s like a thousand calories in that stuff), keep working out, be kind to those around you, (we’re all stressed out) and take a little time out to appreciate what’s really important ( the material things aren’t it).

If you ask me when the best time to visit San Francisco is, I would say early October. The weather is warm and there’s less chance of high layered fog and wind. The city always gets late summer here and I wait anxiously for it.

Sun Setting Earlier Over the Bay Bridge

In my older years I’ve grown to not like the cold much. In fact, I plan to move to a warmer climate in a few years. Until I can afford to do this, I’ll enjoy these warmer days we have right now…..

This past weekend, I run a couple great runs in the warmer weather. I’m soaking in the sun as much as I can, as the nights are getting darker faster and soon I won’t have that wonderful Golden Gate Park trail to run Friday evenings any more.

View of Aquatic Park & the Bay

I also invested in some new running gear. I bring many items with me on my runs. I don’t own a car, so it’s essential I have everything with me when I go out. Must haves for me on a run are: phone, keys, glasses, water, mascots Buster and Alfredo.

I have an Ultimate Direction hydration vest I really like. I’ve owned it for two years and it’s the best pack I’ve ever owned. But it is bulky and sometimes I’d rather not wear a big vest.

Just recently I purchased an Ultimate Direction Access 10 Plus waist pack. I’ve used it for a week now and really like it for the most part. What I appreciate about it is it doesn’t move around, it stays where I want it to stay. The small water bottle is perfect for short runs under 10 miles, which is just when I want to wear it. It has two pockets which is better than the usual one pocket styles I’ve seen. There is another waist pack with a larger bottle, (the Access 20 Plus), but I’m not sure if the pockets are larger.

Access 10 Plus

The minuses, there’s only one negative about it is that the pockets are small. The first, to hold my phone doesn’t hold my phone if I have headphones plugged in, and I don’t have a giant phone. I have a Galaxy S6 Edge, so it’s not huge, but I have to keep it unzipped a little if I want to listen to music. The second pocket is barely big enough for my glasses and keys. I’m afraid I’ll break my glasses because they have to squish in there sometimes if I need to add fuel for the road.

Ultimate Direction makes great big waist packs, but that’s too much for a shorter run. If they made this one with one of the pockets even a half inch longer, that would make all the difference.

As a company, I highly recommend U.D.’s products. Their customer service and gear are top of the line. The pricing is good and delivery is fast. Just make that pocket a teeny bit bigger and I will recommend the Access 10 Plus 100%. 😉

I watch a lot of professional sports. My favorites are baseball (Go Giants), hockey (Go Rangers) and football (Go Niners). This time of year, the NHL is in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the best teams are finding ways to win and move, while the weaker ones go home. Baseball is warming up with ball parks filling up as the calendar moves into summer and our thoughts turn towards shorts, BBQs and easy, lazy afternoons.

When I think of sports in relation to my running, I start thinking about what makes some teams, some athletes, or individuals keep going, even when everything is stacked against them.

This morning I ran six miles through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach and then down the Great Highway and back up to Judah Street. It was a good run; I didn’t stop that much, just a couple restroom breaks and then once for the traffic light and a couple more times to drink water or electrolytes. But my runs are getting longer, smoother and a little bit faster.

My biggest problem when I run is to keep running and not stop after a while. To be honest, I want to stop and walk because I get bored running after a while. It’s not a huge problem with six miles, but as I increase mileage, it gets more of a problem when I train for longer races. Like when I trained for my half marathon; running 10 or 12 miles was just dull.

Like the team who has a tough game with an intimidating opponent ahead of them, the mileage can be just as intimidating. Without the right attitude it can be a runner’s downfall. So, like the team who wants to win Sir Stanley’s Cup or the World Championship, to finish even a training run, we have to have a winning attitude. “We CAN run this distance!” We must keep telling ourselves. I was thinking of the comparison to the NHL teams who are hurt and tired and beat up playing in playoff games night after night, as they reach closer to the Stanley Cup Championships. They want nothing more but to end it all, but they have that desire, that longing, that hunger to WIN. And the one who wants it more will get it. So, we CAN run this!

Or course, proper planning and preparation have to go into it. I make sure and not increase my mileage too much, too soon. I’ll be running six miles for my long run two more Sundays. I don’t have another half marathon until September so I don’t mind taking it easier right now, getting my base stronger and maybe a little faster before I start tacking on the miles. And while I’m making my base distance faster, I’m also losing weight.

So, when the times get hard, when we’re tired and all we want to do is get home, take a shower, have our coffee and eat, when all we want to do is STOP we must keep moving….find a mantra that works for you. I choose one like “Keep your feet f**king moving” or “One more step” or “Almost there”. You get the picture. Anything like that will work and don’t stop.